Nintendo released a statement on their corporate site stating that a Legend of Zelda live-action film is starting development.
The film is being produced jointly by Nintendo and Arad Productions Inc., with Wes Ball taking on the role of Director, who made his directorial debut in 2014 with "The Maze Runner". Financing for the film comes from Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Nintendo financing more than half of the cost; Sony Pictures will be handling distribution of the movie.
Nintendo's full statement can be found below.
Quote From Nintendo Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto Minami-ku; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, "Nintendo" hereafter) today announced that it will develop a live-action film of The Legend of Zelda.
The film will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director and Fellow of Nintendo and Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc., who has produced many mega hit films.
The film will be produced by Nintendo and Arad Productions Inc., and directed by Wes Ball. The film will be co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., with more than 50% financed by Nintendo. The theatrical distribution of the film will be done worldwide by Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
By producing visual contents of Nintendo IP by itself, Nintendo is creating new opportunities to have people from around the world to access the world of entertainment which Nintendo has built, through different means apart from its dedicated game consoles.
By getting deeply involved in the movie production with the aim to put smiles on everyone’s faces through entertainment, Nintendo will continue its efforts to produce unique entertainment and deliver it to as many people as possible.
Comments
Holy shit do I have thoughts lol
Which Zelda story are we doing (inb4 "they're all the same")?
Will Link talk? Should he talk?
Why live-action when they already did well with an animated Mario movie?
Are they gonna get some Timothee Chalamet pretty boy-type person to play Link?
Who's gonna play Ganondorf? Who has the necessary body type for that? "The Mountain" from Game of Thrones?
Are we gonna go there with pig-Ganon?
I'm honestly terrified of this movie, and I know nothing about it yet. Kinda like the Borderlands film coming next year: a franchise I love that I'm super worried will get shat upon. Both of them could've been animated like their games and I would feel 1000% better (at least then you could use the same voice actors).
Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuse me princess.
Ahem, I guess he'll talk, but it'll be weird. I hope they take the One Piece approach when adapting it, because I guess it could work for Zelda.
Regarding the story, I'm guessing they'll go with either Ocarina or BotW. Both are massively popular and have stories that can be extended into film plots.